Children elope to sunny Africa

Two children tried to leave the cooler climes of Germany to elope to sunny Africa, but only got as far as the local train station. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Children 'elope' to sunny Africa The pair aged six and seven were planning to get married in Africa and brought the girl's five-year-old sister along as a witness.

They left their home in the city of Hanover, which they shared with the boy's father and the girls' mother, early on New Year's Day as their parents slept.

Police spokesman Holger Jureczko said: "The children wanted to do something really special for the New Year.

"They had it all planned out. They had three suitcases, filled with food, swimming costumes, a lilo and even sunglasses".

Mr Jureczko said they took a tram to the central station and were about to board a train to the airport when police stopped them.

"They said they wanted to go to Africa 'because it's so nice and warm there'," Mr Jureczko said.

The boy had once been to Italy and convinced the girl that Africa would be even warmer, he said.

The police told the trio that it would be difficult to get to Africa without money or tickets and instead gave them a tour of the police station before handing them over to their parents.